


Broken Up

by Joycee



Series: Traumatic [2]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, False Accusations, Hospitalization, Injury, M/M, Rough Sex, Surgery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-14 06:16:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5732473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joycee/pseuds/Joycee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rough sex lands Neal back in the hospital and Peter in serious trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. PASSION

**Author's Note:**

> _Sequel to Shot Up_

Neal keeps teasing Peter. He's bored with staying home. He's tired of being treated like an invalid. He urges Peter to fuck him harder, deeper, rougher. He wants to feel possessed, dominated.

Peter lets all his frustrated feelings pour out. He grabs Neal roughly from behind, for once not being careful how he holds him. He wants to take him, to merge with him, to plunge in as far as he can go, until Neal is rocked across the bed. He wants to hear Neal yell out his name and beg for satisfaction.

It's the first time they have really let loose all their passion since Neal was shot, since he got home from the hospital. His stitches are out and Neal doesn't care if it hurts. It feels so good not to hold back, to just let go, to lose himself in the moment. He taunts Peter, crying out his name and pushing back.

Peter forces Neal's arms over his head and pins them. He grips Neal's hip with his other hand and traps Neal's legs between his own. He stretches his opening wider as he sinks his teeth into Neal's neck. He is determined to fuck him until Neal fully surrenders, until Neal turns to jelly underneath him.

Neal squirms and raises his hips and presses his ass against Peter's brutal thrusts. He feels ecstatic as he reaches the edge of his climax. He can sense that Peter won't last much longer, but he wants to squeeze out every last drop of pleasure.

Peter reaches under and grips Neal's cock hard and bumps his balls with his own which are pressed up as far as they can get against Neal's warm tight asshole. Peter gives a last great push and shouts as he finally loses all control and spurts hot cum deep inside him. 

Neal screams, first with pleasure as he erupts in glorious orgasm, and then with pain as the muscles of his abdomen spasm. Tears flow from his eyes as he feels his newly healed abdominal wound break open.

Peter is kissing his neck and his back and telling him he loves him, unaware of the damage that has been done. Neal finally stammers weakly, "Pppeter, wait. Sssomething's wrong. I think I'm bbleeding."

"What?" mumbles Peter, unable to comprehend what Neal is saying. "What's bleeding? Your asshole?"

"No," Neal agonizes, twisting out from under Peter. "My scar from my surgery. It opened up."

Peter sits straight up, thoroughly alarmed. "Neal! Oh no! Let me see. How bad is it?"

Neal rolls onto his side doubled over with his hands over his abs and rocks back and forth. He's moaning and clenching his teeth. Peter tries to cradle him in his arms, but Neal does not relax. Peter removes one of Neal's hands so he can feel the damage.

The area over Neal's liver is rapidly swelling up under the skin. Peter curses, "Christ, Neal! We've got to get an ambulance!"

Neal looks up at him with terrified blue eyes, his large black pupils dilated from sex and pain and fear. He nods and whimpers, "Peter, it hurts so bad. I'm scared."

"Hang on, lover," Peter urges him as he frantically hunts for his phone. He finally puts his hand on it and quickly dials 911, barking, "Operator, I need an ambulance immediately. My friend is bleeding internally. He had surgery a couple of weeks ago and I think something's broken open. Please hurry. He's in a lot of pain. I think his life is in danger!"

He tries to collect his wits to give the operator the address. He puts the phone on speaker and lays it down so he can help Neal, but he doesn't know what to do. Neal is looking as white as the sheet and and the swelling under his suture line is getting worse.

Peter lays Neal on his back and puts his own hands over Neal's, but there's no way to put pressure on the bleeding. He tries anyway. Tears are streaming down his face. All he can think is that this can't be happening.

Neal reaches up and touches Peter's face, silently begging him for help. Peter shouts into the phone, "How much longer before the ambulance gets here? I'm losing him. There's no way to stop the bleeding."

He hears the operator calling, "Sir, sir? I need you to calm down and tell me what happened. How did your friend hurt himself?"

Peter can't imagine how to answer that question. He begins, "We were, we were.... Oh never mind. I just need help right now. Oh please."

He leans over and kisses Neal's face, telling him. "Neal, please. Please, Buddy. I'm sorry. Oh, what have I done?"

He hears the operator saying calmly, "Sir? The ambulance should be there soon. Tell me what happened. Did you hurt your friend?"

Peter gasps, "No! I mean I didn't mean to. Oh, this is bad. It's not what you think. We were, we were having sex and.... Oh, just get here please!"

He hears the ambulance screaming up and he races downstairs to let the paramedics in, completely unmindful of his own nudity. They follow him back up to where Neal is lying naked and barely conscious. One of them asks tersely, "What happened here?"

Peter tries to explain, "He had surgery a couple of weeks ago for a gunshot wound to his liver. It was healing up fine, but tonight, it, well, it burst open."

The paramedics immediately start an IV and rapidly run fluid in. They murmur to each other as they take Neal's vital signs and then one of them runs to get a stretcher. They quickly load Neal onto it and strap him down and hurry to get him in the ambulance.

Peter finally realizes he needs to put his pants on. He grabs his shirt and his shoes and runs after them. He insists on getting into the ambulance with them to go to the hospital, ignoring the worried glances they are exchanging with each other. 

Peter fumbles in his pocket and finds his wallet with his badge in it. He shows it to the paramedics and they appear to calm down a little bit. They're too preoccupied with caring for Neal to pay any further attention to Peter on the way to the hospital.

Peter hears the driver calling in to the Emergency Department and giving a quick description of Neal's condition. The minute the ambulance comes to a stop, everyone jumps out. The emergency doctor meets them outside and they whisk Neal inside, calling out his vital signs and the actions they have taken so far as they go.

The doctor is already ordering blood tests and medications and instructing the nurses to prep Neal for emergency surgery. Peter comes to a halt as he sees Dr. Carpenter, Neal's surgeon, rush through the door.

Dr. Carpenter fixes Peter with an angry stare and demands, "What the hell happened, Burke? What did you do to him now?"


	2. HUMILIATION

Peter stares helplessly at Dr. Carpenter. Standing there with his clothes barely thrown on and his hair mussed, he feels completely humiliated and inadequate. He opens his mouth to respond to the doctor's accusation, but words fail him.

Dr. Carpenter commands, "You will not leave here. Understand? I have to help Neal now. I'll get back to you."

Peter nods silently. People are staring at him. He dimly realizes how bad this looks, but all he can think of is whether Neal is going to be okay.

He reaches absently for his phone, thinking that he needs to call Elizabeth, but he discovers he has left his phone in Neal's apartment. He hovers anxiously outside the treatment room trying to see and hear what's going on until an orderly insists that he go to the waiting room.

Peter sinks into a chair and drops his head into his hands. He can't believe this has happened. What was he thinking? What was Neal thinking? How could they have been so reckless?

Peter's guilty thoughts are interrupted by a familiar voice saying, "Peter? Is that you? What are you doing here? Has something happened to Neal?"

He looks up into the concerned eyes of white haired Mike O'Malley in his pink volunteer outfit. Peter feels relieved to see a sympathetic face and moans, "Oh Mike, you won't believe what has happened."

Mike pats his shoulder and comforts, "There, there. It can't as bad as all that. Neal's strong. He recovered last time. Now what's happened?"

Peter looks up at him desperately, explaining, "His liver wound came open and he's bleeding profusely internally. There was no way we could stop it."

"Well, he's here now. They'll take good care of him." Mercifully, Mike doesn't ask what caused the wound to bleed.

Peter nods quietly. He is realizing that he may actually be in legal trouble. While the accidental shooting had been justifiable in the line of duty, this was nothing but stupidity. He should have known it was too soon for vigorous sex.

Peter thinks, _"I should be old enough and wise enough to restrain myself, even if Neal isn't. I'm the one who is responsible for this."_

He startles as Mike calls his name again. "Peter? Are you all right? Is there anything I can do?"

Peter shakes his head. He confides, "Mike, I may be in some trouble here. Neal and I were... Well, we were playing rough when this happened."

Mike nods slowly. He points out two uniformed policemen who are approaching them. "May I suggest that you don't volunteer any information, Peter? Unless it's something you think will help Neal, of course."

Peter sighs and looks resigned. He asks Mike, "Do you think you could contact my wife Elizabeth for me? I don't have my phone with me."

Mike takes down the phone number and walks away. The officers stand in front of Peter and one of them says, "Peter Burke? We'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind, about how your friend Neal Caffrey was injured tonight."

Peter takes out his badge and informs them, "I'm a friend of Captain Shattuck, head of SWAT. Is there any way I could talk with him?"

The two confer for a moment and the other officer says, "Look, Agent Burke, we just need to ask you a few questions for the record. This isn't really a formal investigation."

"I would just feel more comfortable discussing this with someone I know," Peter demurs. "Right now I'm just worried about my best friend."

The two officers back off a little and consider Peter's request. The first one agrees, "Okay, Special Agent Burke. We're going to try to accommodate you as a matter of professional courtesy."

His partner warns, "Please do not leave this waiting room without our permission. We'll be back shortly."

Peter nods seriously. He blinks back tears. He can hardly believe he is in this situation. He hopes Mike O'Malley has called El. He needs her support. He hopes she will understand.

Time ticks by slowly. Peter closes his eyes to block everything out. He directs all his energy toward willing Neal to pull through this. It seems like it was just the other day he was sitting here waiting to see if Neal would survive the gunshot wound.

A noisy confusion distracts his attention. He looks around curiously, only to see Mozzie bustling toward him. He plops down in the chair next to Peter and informs him, "Mike O'Malley called and told me you need my services."

"What? What are you talking about?" Peter asks in confusion.

Mozzie smiles, "Dante Haversham, Attorney at Law, at your service." He gives a little bow.

Peter sputters, "Oh, for goodness sake, Mozzie. You have to be kidding."

"I assure you I am not. This is serious." Mozzie frowns, "How is Neal doing? Have you heard anything?"

Peter shakes his head, "Not yet. Mozzie, do you know if Mike called Elizabeth for me?"

"Um, not yet," Mozzie admits. "We thought it might be more prudent to wait a little while."

Peter sighs deeply, "Okay, Mozzie, what do you advise me to do?"

"First you have to tell me everything that happened," Mozzie encourages. "It will be covered by attorney client privilege, of course." 

Peter gives him a weak resigned smile. "Do you think you could find us some coffee first? I'm not supposed to leave this room."

When Mozzie returns, Peter asks, "Why are you trying to help me? I'm surprised you're not furious at me."

"I'm saving that for later," Mozzie warns. Then he conciliates, "I know how hard Neal is to resist when he wants something. I'm assuming he was a more than willing participant in your, uh, activities. Anyway, I know what he would want now is for me to help you."

Peter responds gratefully, "Thank you. I sure never imagined I'd be in this position."

Mozzie adds, "Neal will need you to help him get well again. As hard as it is for me to imagine, he relies on you a great deal. Now, what have you told the authorities? Have you made any statements?"

"Only what I may have said during the 911 call. I suppose that was recorded," Peter muses.

"You can be sure of that. I'll see what I can do about getting a copy of the recording," Mozzie notes efficiently. "Anyway, I assume you were under a lot of stress at that time."

"You understand right," Peter confirms. "Neal suddenly started crying with pain and saying his wound was bleeding. I could see a huge bulge building up over his liver and I had no idea how to stop it. It was terrifying."

"Well, now that he's in surgery, let's hope they can repair the tear and stop the bleeding before it's too late. This is an excellent trauma center, you know," Mozzie reminds him.

"Yeah, so I hear; but his surgeon, Dr. Carpenter, still blames me for the shooting. He practically accused me of trying to hurt Neal again," Peter recalls.

Mozzie shakes his head, "I remember him. Now who else have you talked to and what did you say?"

Peter says slowly, "Well, I asked the two policemen who were here if I could talk to Captain Shattuck instead of them. They agreed to call him and told me not to leave."

"Do you think you can trust Shattuck?" Mozzie inquires sharply. "We can't afford for you to make any statements that can be held against you."

Peter sighs, "I'm in a lot of trouble, aren't I, Mozzie? This is a nightmare." Tears come to his eyes again.

Mozzie looks at him sympathetically and says gently, "Suit, let me try to stall until we see if Neal is going to be all right. That will make a big difference."

Peter nods gratefully, "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad you're here. Do you think we could get a report on Neal's condition so far?"

"Oh, I doubt if they'll tell us anything until the surgery is completed, unless he dies, of course," Mozzie says matter of factly.

Peter blanches and feels like he might vomit. Mozzie looks alarmed and pushes Peter's head down between his knees. "Breathe, Suit. Take some deep breaths. That's not going to happen, okay? Neal will be okay. He has to be."

"He has to be," repeats Peter weakly. He sits back up and rests his head back against the wall. "He has to be."


	3. LOST

While Peter is still telling Mozzie what happened, as impassionately as he can manage, a tall broad shouldered middle aged cop in uniform walks into the waiting room and looks around. He comes over and greets Peter, "Hey, J. Edgar, I heard you were asking for me."

Peter nods gravely and introduces him, "Mike Shattuck, this is my, uh, attorney, Dante Haversham."

Mozzie looks alarmed and quickly excuses himself. Mike Shattuck sits down heavily next to Peter and sighs, "So I hear you're in a bit of trouble, Pete."

Peter replies gravely, "I don't know, but I'm afraid I might be."

"I heard Caffrey's hurt badly. This have anything to with your accidental shooting a few weeks ago?" Shattuck asks sharply.

"Not exactly, Mike," Peter tries to explain. "Well, it's a complication of his surgery from that. His wound broke open. He's in surgery now."

"He going to be okay?" asks Mike politely. Peter shakes his head and confesses, "I don't know, but he has to be. He just has to be."

Shattuck questions, "Who's his surgeon?" Peter responds, "Dr. Carpenter. He blames me for the injury and I blame myself, too, though you know I would never purposely hurt Neal."

"I know Bill Carpenter," Shattuck says. "He's not a warm and fuzzy guy, but he's good. He's saved the lives of a couple of my men."

Peter admits, "I know. It's just that I feel bad enough as it is. Last time Carpenter wouldn't allow me to visit Neal until he received the Incident Report to confirm the shooting was accidental. I had to sneak in to see him."

Shattuck gives Peter an empathetic look and advises, "Wait, Peter. I don't want you tell me anything more yet. Especially since your oddball 'lawyer' seems to have taken off."

Peter shrugs and they sit in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Shattuck says, "Look, Peter, I understand. I think I get what happened. Since you seem to know your way around the hospital, I'm going to suggest we stall for a little while, at least until Caffrey gets out of surgery."

Peter asks, "What do you have in mind, Mike?"

"Well, you excuse yourself to go the men's room and I'll walk outside to take a phone call. When I come back in, you won't be here," explains Mike. "I'll stall the cavalry for awhile. Here, take my cell number so you can get hold of me if you need to."

Peter slips the small paper with the number on it into his wallet. He gives his old friend a grateful relieved look and squeezes his muscular arm, "I knew I could count on you."

Mike smiles and says, "For old times sake, buddy. Hey, what about Elizabeth? Does she know what's going on?"

Peter answers shakily, "Not yet. She's not home tonight. I was spending the night with Neal...."

Mike reassures, "I'm sure she'll understand. She knows how you and Neal feel about each other. Don't worry, Peter. As long as he pulls through this, you'll be all right. I'll help as much as I can."

Peter blanches again at the thought of how critical Neal's condition is. His voice breaks as he repeats, "Neal has to pull through this. Mike, I don't think I can live with it if he doesn't."

Mike pats Peter's shoulder and leaves. Peter heads for one of the locker rooms that Mike O'Malley showed him when Neal was in the hospital last time. He strips off his wrinkled clothes and takes a shower, letting his tears wash away in the hot water.

He emerges from the locker room in a clean green hospital surgical scrub suit with a surgical mask hanging loosely from his neck and he heads for the observation gallery over the operating room. There he stares down intently at the team of doctors and nurses working diligently on a pale unconscious Neal and he has a dizzying sense of déjà vu.

Volunteer Mike O'Malley walks up behind Peter and says quietly, "I thought I'd find you here. Hope you're not angry with me for calling Dante instead of your wife."

Peter turns and shakes his head, "No. You did the right thing, but my friend from the police department came and Mozzie, that is Dante, vanished. I'm supposed to stay out of sight until we find out how Neal is after surgery."

Mike smiles, "Well, there's someone else who'd like to see you, Peter. Remember Tony, Neal's nurse from the Surgical Intensive Care Unit? He says to tell you you're welcome to come by the SICU to see Neal when he gets there."

Peter's eyes shine as he tears up again, so thankful for the people who are standing by him at this time of crisis. He glances down and sees with relief that Neal is being wheeled out of the O.R. He has at least survived the surgery.

Mike pats his hand and says, "Hey, look at that. They'll be taking him to SICU now. Why don't you head on up there, Peter? I'll go see if I can find Dante and let him know where you are."

Peter agrees and heads for the elevator. When he arrives outside the SICU, he sees the tall dark and handsome Nurse Tony standing at the desk. Tony glances toward Neal's bed where Dr. Carpenter is checking him and writing post op orders. He looks back at Peter and shakes his head with a firm warning.

Peter realizes what Tony is trying to tell him and turns around and heads for the stairway. He ducks inside and casually leans back against the railing. The railing is loose and rocks back. Peter loses his footing and tumbles backward down a flight of stairs. When he comes to rest, he is unconscious with the back of his head bloody and his left arm twisted awkwardly underneath him.

Downstairs, Mike O'Malley finds Mozzie/Dante Haversham dressed in a blue scrub suit pacing anxiously around the Emergency Department waiting room. Mozzie hurries over when he sees the affable old volunteer and asks, "Mike, have you seen Peter anywhere?"

Mikes grins with twinkling eyes, "Yep, I just left him outside the O.R. observation gallery. He was headed up to the SICU to see Neal when he wakes up from the anesthesia."

Mozzie worries, "I wish he'd told me. I take it he was dressed in scrubs?"

Mike answers, "Yes, green ones, I believe. He told me you disappeared when his friend, the police captain, showed up."

"Well, naturally, but I was keeping an eye on him. I followed him to the locker room where he got his scrubs and I found this in the pocket of the pants he left behind." Mozzie produces Peter's wallet and holds it up with a look of concern.


	4. FOUND

The maintenance request for the loose stair railing is picked up by Calvin Washington, a large middle aged black man. He had a brief career as a pro football player and everyone around the hospital affectionately calls the affable giant, “Big Cal.” When he enters the stairwell outside the SICU, Big Cal hears a faint moan coming from just below. He curiously lumbers down a flight and finds Peter lying there. 

“Hey man,” he says worriedly, “I knew someone was going to fall because of that railing. Are you okay?”

Peter shakes his head in confusion and tries to sit up. Cal warns, “Hey there, take it easy, man. What’s your name anyway?”

Peter is thinking of only one thing and groans, “Neal….”

Cal gives him a gentle smile as he lifts him up and soothes, “Okay Neal, take it easy. Big Cal’s gonna take you to the Emergency Department now. Hold on tight.”

Shortly after Cal takes Peter downstairs for treatment, Mozzie and Mike arrive at the SICU and ask Tony if he’s seen Peter. Tony looks around and shrugs, “I saw him just outside when they first brought Neal up from surgery. Dr. Carpenter was here so I signaled Peter to make himself scarce. I think I saw him head for the stairwell.”

As the two men head in that direction, Tony warns, “Be careful, the stair rail in there is loose. One of these days, somebody’s going to fall and get hurt if Maintenance doesn’t take care of it soon.”

Mozzie and Mike enter the stairwell and call out Peter’s name, but there’s no answer. They walk down a level and Mozzie notices a blood spot and kneels down. Mike frowns, “What do you think? Is that fresh blood? Do you think something could have happened to Peter?”

Mozzie puzzles, “It seems unlikely, but even if this is Peter’s blood, where could he be now?”

Mike suggests, “Let’s go back downstairs and ask the operator to page him over the speaker system. We can have him meet us back at the Emergency Department waiting room.”

When they return to the waiting room, Captain Mike Shattuck is there. He gives Mozzie a confused look and shakes his head at the resemblance of the short bald man to Peter’s so called attorney. He is wondering where Peter has gone off to when he hears Peter’s name being paged over the speaker to meet his party in the E.D. waiting room on the first floor.

Mozzie notices Mike Shattuck and quickly walks on through the room, dragging Mike O’Malley with him. He grips Mike’s arm and exclaims, “That’s the cop that’s Peter’s friend. I think he might have recognized me!”

Mike calms him, “Oh, I doubt it, and anyway, so what? What have you done wrong? I thought you were Peter’s lawyer, Dante.”

Mozzie replies awkwardly, “Well, er, yes I am, but, well, it’s complicated. I just naturally prefer not to spend too much time with the gendarmes.”

Dr. Carpenter walks up and greets them curtly, “O’Malley, you remember Neal Caffrey’s friend, Peter Burke, the FBI agent, don’t you? Well, I’m looking for him and I just heard his name being paged to come down here. Have you seen him around anywhere?”

O’Malley shakes his head and takes the opportunity to ask, “How is Mr. Caffrey doing? I heard they brought him in a while ago in pretty bad condition. Oh, by the way, this is my friend, Dante Haversham….” He looks around, but the little man has vanished again. Mike shakes his head and adds, “I believe that policeman over there is waiting for Agent Burke, too.”

Dr. Carpenter responds, “Caffrey is out of surgery. I stopped his bleeding for now, but it’s going to be touch and go for him. Excuse me, O’Malley. I’m going to speak to the policeman and see if I can find Agent Burke. I need to talk to him.”

O’Malley walks out into the hall where is he is joined by Dante Haversham again, who immediately asks him, “What did the doc want?”

“He’s trying to find Peter and he heard his name being paged. He says he needs to talk to him. Where did you get off to, Dante?” Mike asks curiously. “You keep disappearing on me.”

Mozzie gives him a secretive smile, “I come and go as I need to. Don’t worry about it. Do you see Peter anywhere?”

Mike shrugs, “Not yet. You keep an eye out here. I’ll head back up to SICU and see if he shows up there since Dr. Carpenter is down here now.”

Dr. Carpenter casually enters the E.D. after determining that Captain Shattuck doesn’t know where Peter Burke is. He looks around and notices a patient in a green hospital scrub suit lying on a stretcher with his eyes closed. He has a white gauze bandage wrapped around his forehead and a canvas sling on his left arm. The man looks remarkably like Special Agent Peter Burke.

Dr. Carpenter grabs the nearest nurse and asks in rapid succession, “Who is this patient? When did he come in? Who’s taking care of him?”

The nurse smiles flirtatiously at the good looking blond surgeon and tells him, “Big Cal found him in the stairwell outside the SICU a little while ago and brought him down here. He doesn’t have any ID on him. The only name we have for him is ‘Neal.’ Apparently, that’s what he told Big Cal when he found him. He has a mild head injury and a broken arm. He must have fallen in the stairwell. He’s lucky Big Cal came along when he did.”

Dr. Carpenter puts his hand to his head and cautions wearily, “Just a minute. Don’t move this patient.” He walks back out into the waiting room and taps Captain Shattuck on the shoulder. He commands tersely, “Come with me, Captain.”

Captain Shattuck stares in shock at the sight of his friend lying injured on a stretcher. He gasps, “Peter! What happened?”

Dr. Carpenter rolls his eyes and sighs disgustedly, “I thought so. Now what has Burke done? I’m going to find out who’s in charge of his care. You stay here, Captain.”

Peter opens his eyes and looks up groggily at Mike Shattuck. He asks weakly, “Neal? Is he….?”

Shattuck smiles indulgently, “Neal’s out of surgery and he’s being taken care of. What happened to you, J. Edgar?”

Peter smiles at the use of his nickname from their early days of working together as rookies, when Peter had chased down a criminal who demanded, "Who are you?" and Peter responded, "I'm J. Edgar Fucking Hoover, that's who.” Mike had never let him live that down. Now Peter groans in pain as he shakes his head and asks his old friend, “Do you know what happened to me?"

Mike tells him, “Well, apparently a Good Samaritan hospital maintenance man found you in broken pieces at the bottom of a flight of stairs outside the Surgical Intensive Care Unit and carried you down here for treatment. What are you doing in the doctor clothes, Peter?”

“Camouflage,” Peter explains. “I was trying to sneak in to see Neal. I ducked into the stairwell to hide from Dr. Carpenter and I guess somehow I must have tripped and fallen down the stairs.”

“Your suspicious little lawyer is also running around here somewhere in scrub clothes. I think he’s looking for you,” Mike informs him.

Peter closes his eyes and turns his head away. He moans, “Oh what a mess this is. Mike, do you think you could get hold of Elizabeth for me? I need her."

“Sure, buddy, I’ll go call her now. You wait right here, okay?” Shattuck inquires, “Alright if I let these people know who you are now? The surgeon, Bill Carpenter, knows anyway, but apparently you told somebody your name is Neal. They couldn’t find any ID on you, Peter.”

Peter has passed out again and doesn’t respond. Captain Shattuck steps away to call Elizabeth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _NYPD Captain Mike Shattuck is a character in the story, Exquisite by Copperbadge, (http://archiveofourown.org/works/1004091). Story about his relationship with Peter is in Chapter 4._


	5. PAIN

Elizabeth Burke, dressed in an attractive bright blue suit, hurries into the hospital Emergency Department waiting room, looking for Mike Shattuck, an old friend of Peter's whom she hasn't seen in a long time. The rugged police captain meets her halfway across the room. For some reason, she isn't expecting to see him in uniform and it makes her nervous.

Captain Shattuck bends down and lightly kisses her cheek. He takes her hands in his and smiles, "Elizabeth, so nice to see you again, even though this is not the best circumstance. You're looking as pretty as ever."

His familiar deep voice sounds a lot like Peter's and it calms her. Elizabeth squeezes his hand and requests, "Take me to Peter, Mike?"

"Of course," he replies soothingly and leads the way to a cubicle where Peter is lying on a stretcher with his eyes closed. He has white gauze wrapped around his head and a new cast on his left arm.

Elizabeth gasps, "Oh Peter!" and rushes to his side. Peter groggily opens his eyes and murmurs, "Neal?"

Elizabeth says softly, "No Hon. It's me."

Peter smiles happily and reaches for her hand, responding, "Hey Hon. I'm glad you're here."

A nurse walks in and asks apologetically, "Oh, are you Mrs. Burke? Could I ask you a few questions? Your husband hasn't been able to give us much information."

Elizabeth nods tentatively and follows the nurse, calling over her shoulder, "I'll be right back, Peter."

Dr. Carpenter notices Captain Shattuck standing by Peter and confronts him. "If you people had been doing your job, you would have taken this man into custody when I called you. Instead you let him wander around the hospital and now he's a patient, too, and I'm going to have be damn sure he's kept away from Caffrey!" 

"Whoa, it was my understanding that you wanted Agent Burke questioned about the cause of Neal Caffrey's injury," Capt. Shattuck pushes back. "Nothing in that questioning suggested any reason to arrest him."

"Are you kidding?" protests an outraged Dr. Carpenter. "A month ago Burke shot Caffrey and almost killed him. He had bullet wounds in his chest and his abdomen and he was fortunate to live. Then last night Caffrey was brought in here stark naked by ambulance with a potentially lethal rupture of his liver repair. Guess who was with him when it happened?"

"Yes, Agent Burke has explained all that. I still have no reason to believe that he intentionally harmed the victim," Capt. Shattuck rebuts. "As for the shooting, I understand that the FBI determined that Agent Burke was justified in firing his weapon and Caffrey accidentally got in the way."

"Yeah, the FBI cleared him. His own agency," notes Dr. Carpenter skeptically. "In my line of work, I've learned to be suspicious of claims of accidental injury between two people who are obviously involved."

Capt. Shattuck snaps irritably, "Is that your real concern, Doctor? The relationship between the two men?"

Dr. Carpenter replies belligerently, "Well, no one can deny that they have a romantic involvement. Yes, that does make me suspicious."

"That's hardly enough reason to arrest anyone. If you discover any forensic evidence you'd like to show me, let me know. Otherwise, all you have is suspicion," the policeman instructs dismissively.

The doctor grips Shattuck's arm as he starts to walk away and growls, "If Peter Burke is discharged tonight, I want you to keep him away from Neal Caffrey. I don't care how you do it. I don't want my fragile patient to be endangered."

Captain Shattuck coolly removes Dr. Carpenter's hand and says coldly, "Doctor, I suggest you stick to doctoring and leave the policing to me."

Dr. Carpenter stomps off, obviously displeased. Peter calls out, "Hey Mike? Thanks for that."

Mike replies, "Peter, I don't like this. This whole situation is F'd up. I think it would be wise for you to stay away from Neal for a little while. After all, there's nothing you can do for him right now."

A tear runs down Peter's cheek. He agonizes, "You think I hurt Neal, too, don't you? Mike, I don't know. We were playing rough. It's obvious now that it was too soon, but Neal didn't know that and neither did I. Maybe I should have known. You have to believe I would never try to hurt Neal. I love him."

Mike pats Peter's hand and consoles, "I know you wouldn't. Now you just need to rest and worry about getting yourself well. They said you have a concussion and your arm is broken."

"Are they going to discharge me tonight?" Peter questions anxiously. "I'm okay. I have a pretty bad headache, but my arm doesn't even hurt that much right now."

Mike smiles affectionately, "Yeah, I know. You're a tough guy. Let me see what I can find out from your doctor. Elizabeth should be back soon."

As soon as he leaves, Peter struggles to sit up. He pulls the bandage off his head and feels the cut on the back of his head gingerly. It doesn't seem to be bleeding. He climbs off the stretcher and looks around cautiously and then he slips out of the room. He heads for the elevator, blending into the crowd in his scrub suit in spite of the cast on his arm.

Peter shakes his head to try to clear it. He has to see Neal before he leaves the hospital. He wants to tell him he's sorry. He can't let Neal think he would try to hurt him. He has to find Neal, but his head hurts so bad. It's making it hard for him to think. He tries to remember what floor the SICU is on.

Elizabeth comes back to Peter's cubicle and finds it empty. She wonders what's going on, but she doesn't see Mike Shattuck either. She wanders out to the waiting room. To her surprise, Mozzie is sitting there calmly reading an old Science Illustrated magazine.

Mozzie looks up and greets her, "Oh hi, Elizabeth. How's Suit doing? I heard he took a nasty fall and broke his head open."

Elizabeth smiles in spite of herself and points out, "He broke his arm, too, Mozzie. The trouble is, I can't find him. His cubicle is empty."

"What? Oh well, I bet he's going to try to see Neal," Mozzie volunteers. "Come on, I'll take you up to the SICU if you want. That's where Neal is. Suit's probably there, too."

Elizabeth sighs, "I guess so, Mozzie. I'd like to see Neal, too. Do you know how he's doing?"

"Last I heard, he was still unconscious. Dr. Carpenter is worried he may have to take him back to surgery again. Apparently, livers are tricky to repair, and they bleed a lot," Mozzie explains.

When they arrive at the SICU, they are disappointed to see that their favorite nurse Tony is not on duty. Instead a cute young blond curly haired nurse named Molly leads them to Neal's bed. She fusses over Neal's IV for a minute and then gently caresses his face. She coos, "Hey handsome, you've got some company. Can you wake up a little bit?"

Mozzie and Elizabeth exchange amused glances at the nurse's obvious affection for their attractive friend. Elizabeth picks up Neal's hand and rubs the back of it lightly. She coaxes, "Hey Sweetie, how are you doing? Want to open those baby blue eyes and say hello?"

Neal moves slowly in the bed and turns his head toward her. He gives her a weak smile and responds softly, "Elizabeth. Hi. Thanks for coming to see me."

"This is getting to be kind of a habit, isn't it?" Elizabeth teases. "You don't have to go such extremes to get attention, you know."

Neal smiles wanly, but his eyes are unfocused and already drifting closed again. Elizabeth asks the nurse, "Is he in pain?"

"Well, the surgery he had is very painful, but I'm giving him as much narcotic medicine as I can. He lost a lot of blood, too, so he really needs to rest," the young nurse explains helpfully.

"Okay. Could I just sit here with him for a couple of minutes?" Elizabeth inquires.

"Sure, for a few minutes. Are you family?" Molly asks. "I think you're the first visitor he's had."

"As close to family as he has anyway. Hasn't my husband Peter been here to see Neal yet?" Elizabeth wonders.

"Not while I've been here," Molly replies. "Of course, Neal really can't appreciate visitors very much anyway right now."

"No, I guess not," sighs Elizabeth. "Come on, Mozzie, let's go back downstairs and find Peter."

Mozzie stops beside Neal and pats his shoulder. Tears spring to his eyes as he murmurs, "Stay strong, mon frère."

They return to the E.D. waiting room downstairs and find Mike Shattuck talking to someone on his cellphone. When he finishes, he and Elizabeth ask each other at the same time, "Do you know where Peter is?"

They laugh awkwardly and Mike tries again, "Peter seems to have disappeared. Have either of you seen him?"

Elizabeth informs him, "No, Mike, we just went up to see if he was with Neal, but the nurse says he hasn't been there."

"Well, that's one good thing. Dr. Carpenter is going to have a fit when he finds out Peter's missing," Mike sighs.

"Why should he care?" pipes up Mozzie. "He's not his doctor, too, is he?"

"Far from it," Mike informs him. "He gave me quite a lecture about how I should get Peter out of here and keep him away from Neal. I'm afraid Peter overheard us."

"Oh no," gasps Elizabeth. "Dr. Carpenter wouldn't let Peter visit Neal last time until he was out of the intensive care unit. He seems to believe that Peter might be a danger to Neal."

"Of course, that's ridiculous! My client would do no such thing," Mozzie declares. "It should be up to Neal who he wants to visit him."

"And Neal wants Peter," Elizabeth asserts firmly. "I could use some coffee, gentlemen. Would you care to join me? There's a coffee shop one floor down. Maybe that's where Peter is."

Mozzie agrees, but Mike declines, "I'd better stay here and watch for Peter. I don't want him to get in any more trouble. Maybe you could bring me back a cup of coffee?"

Elizabeth reaches up and gives him a little kiss. "Of course, we will. Thank you for helping Peter, Mike. I know it means a lot to him to have you here."

Once they are settled at a table with their coffees, Mozzie questions, "I'm curious why Peter called Capt. Shattuck when the doctor wanted him interviewed by the police. How do they know each other?"

Elizabeth winks, "Oh well, they worked together when they were both rookies. That was before I knew Peter. They were, uh, very close, like Peter and Neal are."

"Like Suit and Neal? Elizabeth, do you mean... Were they, uh, intimate?" Mozzie suddenly understands why Peter is so sure he can trust Mike.

Elizabeth warns, "But don't ever let Peter know I told you, okay?" Mozzie nods gravely. Elizabeth asks nervously, "Mozzie, do you know what really happened? I mean how Neal got hurt so badly this time?"

Mozzie smiles benignly, "You have nothing to worry about. Whatever happened was between consenting adults. I think they just pushed a little too hard too soon."

"So to speak," Elizabeth teases, tongue in cheek, her bright blue eyes sparkling. "Come on, let's take Mike some coffee. Maybe Peter has shown up by now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NYPD Captain Mike Shattuck is a character in the story, Exquisite by Copperbadge, (http://archiveofourown.org/works/1004091). Story about his relationship with Peter is in Chapter 4.


	6. CRISIS

Neal fights his way to consciousness, trying to remember where he is. A cute little nurse with curly blonde hair hurries over and says soothingly, "Take it easy Neal. You've had some serious surgery. Remember, you need to be still so you don't disrupt those sutures again." 

The memories of hot sex with Peter followed by searing pain and a frantic trip to the hospital by ambulance come flooding back. Neal winces as he feels the aching in his abdomen. He asks anxiously, "I had more surgery? Am I going to be okay? How long have I been here? Where's Peter?" 

Nurse Molly reassures, "We're doing everything we can to get you well. Dr. Carpenter wants me to keep you sedated so you don't move around too much. I can give you a little more pain medicine, too." 

Neal nods gratefully and mumbles, "Hurts. Sleepy. Where's Peter?" 

Molly administers the additional medication through Neal's IV line. She pats his arm and says, "I'm sure Peter will be here soon. His wife Elizabeth was here with your friend Dante a little while ago." 

Neal nods weakly and lets the medicine drag him back under. He murmurs as he is falling asleep, "Want Peter. Peter, please...." 

Molly returns to the desk to write a note on Neal's medical record before she goes off duty. She is wondering who the mysterious Peter is and why he's so important to Neal when a tall broad shouldered man with a cast on one arm walks into the unit. He's dressed in green scrubs so Molly assumes he works at the hospital. The man appears a little anxious as he asks her where Neal Caffrey is. 

Molly guesses, "Are you Peter?" He nods and she continues, "I just sedated Neal, but he'll be glad you're here. He's been asking for you." 

Peter walks over and sits down heavily next to his sleeping lover. He sighs, "Here I am, Buddy." 

Neal stirs a little but doesn't wake up. Peter rests his pounding head against the side of Neal's bed and closes his eyes.

Molly gives her change of shift report to Nurse Tony, who has just come back on duty. She explains that Neal has been asking for Peter and he has just arrived in the SICU to visit him. She asks curiously, "Do you know why he's so important to Neal?" 

Tony smiles, "Sure. They're lovers." Molly gasps, "But Peter's wife was here!" Tony nods, "I know. They all seem to be comfortable with their relationship."

Molly questions, "Does Peter work here at the hospital? He has a scrub suit on." 

Tony grins, "Naw, Peter's an FBI agent; and Neal's a convicted criminal, by the way. The scrub suit is just a disguise to keep Dr. Carpenter from noticing him." 

Molly looks confused. "Well, is the cast on his arm part of the disguise, too? And why is he avoiding Dr. Carpenter?" 

"Peter has a cast on his arm? That's funny. I don't think he had it when I saw him yesterday," Tony muses.

"You mean Peter visited Neal yesterday? Because he doesn't remember that. He's been asking for Peter every time he wakes up," Molly notes. 

"Well, no, he didn't see Neal yesterday because Dr. Carpenter was here. Oh never mind. Go on home. It's better if you don't get involved in this," Tony advises. 

Molly sighs wistfully, "Neal is such a gorgeous man. I was kind of hoping he wasn't attached to anyone. I should have known, I guess." 

Tony smiles indulgently and teases, "All the good ones are taken? Or all the good ones are gay?" 

Molly laughs ruefully, "Well, in this case, both, or so it seems. See you tomorrow, Tony."

Tony walks back to where Peter is resting against Neal's bed. He puts a firm hand on Peter's right shoulder and massages it. He greets him, "Hey there. You look beat. What happened to your arm?" 

Peter startles and looks up. He smiles wearily when he sees Tony and says seriously, "I fell down some stairs and broke it. How's Neal doing?" 

"Well, I just got here. Apparently, we're keeping him pretty sedated so he doesn't move around too much. Dr. Carpenter is worried that he might start bleeding again. I'm told that Neal's been asking for you when he's awake," informs Tony. 

Peter takes Neal's hand and tells him, "I'm here, Buddy. I'm here.

Tony frowns, "Hey, why don't you go home and get some rest? I'll take good care of Neal and I'll tell him you were here. He's going to sleep most of the time anyway tonight."

Peter stands uncertainly and says, "Maybe I will. It's been a long night. I need to find my wife. I have a terrible headache."

Tony is surprised Peter gives in so easily, but he's relieved, too. He sees Dr. Carpenter coming down the hall and warns, "Uh oh, here comes trouble. Peter, I'll distract Dr. Carpenter for a minute while you slip out. No sense in letting him find you here."

Peter agrees and keeps his head down and his back to Dr. Carpenter as he leaves the SICU. Once he gets down the hall a little way, he stops and raises his right hand to his head. He feels nauseated and dizzy. He tries to remember where he is going, but it's hard to concentrate.

Big Cal comes out of the door from the stairwell and gives him a friendly grin. "Hey Neal! How're you doing? I just finished fixing that railing so no one else will get hurt."

Peter tries to focus on the large amiable maintenance man. He leans against the wall and slowly starts sliding down toward the floor. Big Cal rushes to catch him, exclaiming, "Hey, hey. Easy there. Are you sure you're supposed to be walking around so soon?"

When Peter looks blankly at him without responding, Cal drags him hurriedly over to the SICU. He sees Dr. Carpenter and calls out, "Hey Doc, can you take a look at my friend here? He's not looking too good."

Dr. Carpenter's eyes widen in surprise as he recognizes Peter Burke. He asks tensely, "Cal, where did you find this man?"

Cal answers, "Oh, I was just coming out of the stairwell after I finished fixing that broken railing and I found Neal here sort of wandering around and then he passed out."

"His name isn't Neal. It's Peter," Dr. Carpenter corrects irritably. "I think I know what he's doing up here, but it looks like that concussion must be worse than they thought in the E.D."

Tony hurries over and volunteers, "I didn't think he was looking well when I saw him earlier. Want me to call downstairs for a stretcher to take him back down to Emergency?"

Dr. Carpenter sighs reluctantly, "Yeah, but I guess Cal should put him on that empty bed until they can move him. You should probably go ahead and get his vital signs and hook him to the monitor. I think I'd better call Radiology and order a CT scan on him. He may be bleeding inside his skull."

"You think he might have a subdural hematoma?" asks Tony with alarm.

Dr. Carpenter confirms, "I can't rule it out."


	7. HEALING

Dr. Carpenter gets his colleague, neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Matumba, on the phone and relates urgently, "Joe, I've got a healthy middle aged man here in the SICU who needs your immediate attention. He fell in the stairwell yesterday and hit the back of his head and broke his left arm. The ED diagnosed a concussion, but the patient wandered off. Big Cal just found him walking around in the hall outside the SICU. The patent passed out and Cal brought him here."

"Are you thinking he has a subdural, Bill?" asks Dr. Matumba in his lilting African accent.

"Yeah, I've already sent him down for a CT scan," Dr. Carpenter explains seriously. "The patient is a Special Agent at the FBI. I'm afraid the hospital has some serious liability here. Should I tell radiology to send him up to you when they're finished with him?"

Dr. Matumba replies, "Sorry, Bill. We don't have a bed for him up here. Can you take him back there? I'll come down and examine him, and if the MRI shows a bleed, I'll take him to the O.R. Can you call down and arrange for them to get a procedure room set up for us?"

"Yeah, I'll have Tony take care of that," Dr. Carpenter sighs. "Are we going to have to bring him back here post op, too?""

"I'm afraid so," Dr. Matumba informs him. "None of these patients in my unit are going anywhere any time soon."

A whirlwind of activity ensues as Peter is transported by stretcher back from radiology to SICU and prepped for immediate surgery, since the MRI reveals that he does have a small subdural hematoma. Once Peter has been taken to the O.R. to have the blood evacuated by Dr. Matumba, Dr. Carpenter sinks heavily into a chair at the SICU desk and Tony hurries back to attend to Neal.

Neal is awake and squirming uncomfortably, since it is past time for his narcotic medication. He groans, "Oh Tony, this seems to hurt so much more than it did last time."

Dr. Carpenter comes over and explains, "That's because you had a lot of caustic bile leak out this time when the sutures in your liver ruptured. It was a much messier operation than the removal of the bullet was."

Neal winces, "I guess I really fucked up, didn't I?" He doesn't notice Tony's sly grin and eye roll at the unintentional double entendre. Neal asks plaintively, "Where is Peter? Why isn't he coming to see me?"

Tony looks pointedly at Dr. Carpenter, who clears his throat. He pauses for a minute to let the narcotic medication Tony is injecting take effect. Then he says softly, "Peter has had an accident. He's in the hospital, too. In fact he's having surgery right now."

"What?! What's happened to Peter?" cries Neal. "I don't understand. Why didn't anybody tell me?"

Dr. Carpenter lays a hand on Neal's arm and explains, "He tripped in the stairwell and fell and hit his head yesterday. We just discovered that he has been bleeding inside his skull. He's in surgery now to have the blood drained out."

"That sounds serious," Neal realizes, becoming very pale. "He's going to be okay, though, right?"

"Well, it is very serious. Hopefully, the neurosurgeon can drain the blood through a small burr hole in his skull," Dr. Carpenter sighs. "We'll have to watch him very closely when he gets back from the O.R. They'll be bringing him here to the SICU."

"Will I be able to see him?" asks Neal hopefully. Dr. Carpenter pats his arm and says, "After we get him stabilized. I need you to rest now, Neal. We'll take care of Peter."

Neal is sedated by the medication, so he smiles and nods and drifts back to sleep. Dr. Carpenter turns to Tony and notes, "Agent Burke didn't have a wallet on him. Do you have any information on his next of kin? Maybe it's on his record from the E.D."

Tony tells him, "His wife came in a while ago and visited Neal, but she was looking for Peter. It's possible that she's still here in the hospital. I doubt if she would have gone home without him."

"That is one understanding woman," Dr. Carpenter marvels. "I wish you'd told me sooner. Maybe we could have found her before Peter went down for surgery. Since it was so urgent to get that hematoma stopped before it could cause more damage, we had implied consent to operate, though."

"Want me to go downstairs and look for her?" asks Tony, but Dr. Carpenter points out, "No, you're going to be real busy as soon as they bring Burke back up here. I'll go."

Elizabeth has curled up and fallen asleep on a couch in the E.D. waiting room. Mozzie has disappeared again. He said something about going up to check out the stairway where Peter fell. Volunteer Mike O'Malley and police captain Mike Shattuck are sitting nearby, watching over Elizabeth and drinking coffee. They are discussing "Dante's" strange habit of coming and going without notice and avoiding police.

Captain Shattuck asks, "Do you even know if that character really is an attorney?" Mike O'Malley replies thoughtfully, "Well, Peter acts like he is. I think they probably met through Neal." Mike Shattuck agrees, "Probably. Neal Caffrey has changed Peter's life in a lot of ways."

Dr. Carpenter walks in and looks around the waiting room, which is somewhat less crowded than usual. He approaches Shattuck and O'Malley and greets them with a curt, "Gentlemen, if I may, I need to speak with Mrs. Burke."

Captain Shattuck stands and says irritably, "Listen, Bill, if this about Peter Burke, I told you to leave that to me."

Dr. Carpenter replies sarcastically, "Oh, then I guess you already know that Burke is being operated on right now to remove a subdural hematoma."

Mike O'Malley stands up, too, and the two men exclaim simultaneously, "What are you talking about, Doctor?" Mike Shattuck pursues, "What happened? Why are you just telling us this now?"

Dr. Carpenter wearily runs his fingers through his short blond hair and answers professionally, "Apparently he wandered off from the E.D. without being discharged and made his way up to the SICU to visit Neal Caffrey. When he went back out in the hall, he got dizzy and passed out. Maintenance man Big Cal happened to be there so he brought him into the SICU. I suspected a bleed right away and sent him for a CT scan. When it showed there was a hematoma, Dr. Matumba, our best neurosurgeon took him right to surgery. Time is of the essence in that situation to prevent too much pressure accumulating and causing brain damage."

Elizabeth hears the commotion and sits up. She listens as Dr. Carpenter explains Peter's condition and then cries, "Oh Peter! Oh no! I knew he left the E.D. and I figured he was trying to see Neal, but I had no idea he had a serious head injury. They told us it was a mild concussion."

"Well, it's not a common condition and it isn't always immediately evident. It's not your fault that you didn't know," soothes Dr. Carpenter. He is impressed with this attractive blue eyed woman who obviously loves her husband, who just as obviously, loves another man. "We're going to be taking care of him in the SICU so you can come up and see him as soon as he gets out of surgery."

Elizabeth bats her eyes at the handsome surgeon and says anxiously, "Oh thank you, Doctor, but is Peter going to be okay? He's not going to be brain damaged, is he?"

"Well, Dr. Matumba is a very good surgeon. He's hoping we caught it early enough that he could drain the blood through a burr hole, rather than having to perform open craniotomy. If that's the case, his prognosis should be fairly positive, as long as he doesn't bleed any more."

Elizabeth suddenly looks faint and both Capt. Shattuck and Dr. Carpenter reach out to support her. She steadies herself and asks, "Does Neal know about this?"

Dr. Carpenter continues to hold her elbow and nods, "Yes, I told him, but he's heavily sedated, so I don't know how much he's been able to comprehend it."

Capt. Shattuck frowns and says, "Elizabeth, I've got to go home and get a little sleep. I need to get back to work soon. Would you like me to call Peter's office and let them know what's going on?"

Just then, Mozzie shows up and interjects authoritatively, "No need. I'll take care of that. I assume you gentlemen have no intention of pursuing any criminal charges against my client. Dr. Carpenter, I will be filing a formal complaint with the hospital about the loose railing in the stairway as well as the failure to accurately diagnose and safeguard the well being of my client."

Capt. Shattuck and Dr. Carpenter exchange wry grins. Dr. Carpenter excuses himself, "I need to take a care of a few things before Agent Burke is brought back up to the unit, Mrs. Burke. Okay if I let Mr. O'Malley know when to bring you up?"

Mike Shattuck leans down and kisses Elizabeth's cheek. He tells her, "I'll check back with you in a little while. Let me know if you need anything and try not to worry too much. J. Edgar is a pretty tough customer. He'll get through this."

After surgery, Peter is brought back to the SICU. He has a drainage tube inserted through one small hole in his skull and exiting through another. Dark red blood is collecting in the attached drainage bag. Tony has arranged for him to be in a bed right across from Neal. As Tony tends to his two critically ill patients, he wonders about their relationship, which seems unusual in so many ways. It is obvious they are devoted to each other, though.

He turns around and sees Elizabeth approaching hesitantly. She looks a little overwhelmed by all the tubing and monitors attached to her husband and her friend. Tony gives her an understanding smile. He says lightly, "Welcome to the FBI corner of the SICU. Can I get you a chair?"

Elizabeth nods, "Thank you, and thank you for taking such good care of Peter and Neal. How are they doing now?"

Neal is awake and feeling a little stronger so he reaches out his hand for hers and tells her, "Well, speaking for myself, not too bad. How's Peter? Did his surgery go well? Is he back yet?"

Elizabeth smiles, relieved that Neal seems to be feeling better, and chuckles, "He's right over here across from you, Sweetie. He's not awake yet, though."

Tony assures them both, "Dr. Matumba was very positive about the surgery. He said the hematoma was small and the procedure went well. He'll come by a little later to check on him. You can ask him the questions you have then and he'll update you on his condition."

Elizabeth positions her chair next to Neal's bed, but first she goes over and kisses Peter and strokes his face. She murmurs, "I love you so much, Hon."

To her surprise, Peter takes her hand and responds lovingly, "Hey Hon. I love you more."

Tony comes over asks, "Were you awake during the procedure? Did Dr. Matumba explain it to you?"

"Yeah, once he drained off the pressure, my headache was relieved and I could think more clearly again. Dr. Matumba is quite a joker. He told me not to worry because it's not brain surgery!" Peter chuckles.

"Well, it could have been and still could be if the bleeding resumes. I'm going to need you to rest very quietly now," Tony warns.

He turns to Neal and continues, "On the other hand, you are going to get up and sit in a chair today and maybe even take a little walk later."

Neal whines playfully, "How come he gets to stay in bed and I have to get up?"

Tony laughs and asks, "Do you even know how long you've been lying in that bed already?"

Neal sheepishly admits, "Not really."

Tony requests, "Elizabeth, I have to ask you to step out for awhile so I can get these two taken care of. If you want to, you can come back later. Peter is still going to need to rest very quietly for today, but you could keep Neal company when he gets up, if you want to."

Elizabeth yawns, "Okay, but I think I'll go home for a little while. I need more sleep and I want to check my work schedule."

She gently kisses Peter's lips and Neal's cheek and admonishes, "You two, please, please, behave yourselves for a change!"

Waiting for the elevator, Elizabeth runs into the tall handsome Dr. Carpenter and thanks him for caring for Peter and Neal. He smiles broadly and informs her, "It's fine for you to visit them, but I would prefer that they have no other visitors until they are out of the SICU. They have both already experienced complications and I don't want them to have any more."

Elizabeth touches his arm and winks, "Believe me, Doctor, things are always complicated with those two."

"I can only imagine. Please, call me Bill," the doctor replies. "Elizabeth, you are a fascinating woman. I'd love to buy you a cup of coffee, if you have time.

"Well, I was just about to leave, but I suppose a little caffeine might help keep me alert for the drive home," Elizabeth accepts.

Bill smiles, "And the last thing we need is another accident in the Burke family!"

Elizabeth trips and stumbles a little as they enter the empty elevator. Bill catches her arm and assists her. Elizabeth blushes and admits, "I guess I'm more tired than I realized, Bill.

He slips a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulls her lightly against him, saying, "Come on then, Elizabeth. Let's go get that coffee."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Burr Hole Surgery:  
> http://www.neurosurgery.com.au/pdfs/OPERATION/CSDHOP.pdf
> 
>  
> 
> This story continues in a sequel, _Healing Up_.

**Author's Note:**

> Peter and Neal and the other White Collar characters were created by Jeff Eastin for USA TV. (Now on Netflix and Amazon) 
> 
> Police Captain Mike Shattuck is based on a character in the story Exquisite (AO3 work 1004091) by Copperbadge . 
> 
> The other characters are my own invention. Descriptions of medical and surgical conditions and procedures may not be technically accurate.


End file.
